Electric motors are used in a wide variety of applications. For example, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) designed for reconnaissance applications may use an electric motor to drive a propeller assembly. The configuration of traditional electric motors may often limit the design options for certain applications. One example of this may be seen in traditional UAV designs where the electric motor is mounted on the front of the aircraft because control wiring may not be adequately run past the motor in order to position it at a mid-point of the aircraft fuselage. However, such designs for reconnaissance UAVs have the disadvantage that the rotation of the propellers often interferes with cameras and other sensor equipment. Thus, engineers are often relegated to positioning the sensor equipment away from the propeller.
An electric motor mounted on the front or rear of a UAV may present issues relating to counter-balance the aircraft to compensate for the weight of the electric motor being positioned at an extreme end. Such balancing is inherently more difficult than would be necessary for a motor suitably adapted to be mounted, for example, near a mid-point of the aircraft fuselage. Furthermore, a front or rear-mounted electric motor may be unable to deliver optimal thrust to the aerodynamic control surfaces of the aircraft as compared to a motor that could may mounted at a mid-point on the aircraft fuselage.